[rev_slider alias=”2023-0520-project-fair”]
By Stephen Ide
ONE Neighborhood Builders
Melanea Vallejo and her daughter Nyalee enjoy the Project Fair at Mt. Pleasant High School on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Stephen Ide/ONE Neighborhood Builders
PROVIDENCE — Spurred on by the excitement of her two young daughters, Melanea Vallejo said she was thrilled to come out to the Project Fair on Saturday.
Vallejo, a resident of Elmhurst for nearly 20 years, couldn’t wait to see what her daughters, Mya, 14, and Nyalee, 12, kept talking about. Both of them are project delegates to the Nine Neighborhood Fund (NNF), which will offer public voting in June to spend $1 million to improve the health and well-being of Central Providence.
She said she appreciated that the program encourages teens to be active participants in shaping their community and that she values the opportunity for her daughters to engage in something meaningful.
More than a hundred people attended Saturday’s fair at Mt. Pleasant High School. The event showcased the diverse range of proposals that will be featured on the participatory voting ballot in June.
Vallejo, a guidance counselor at Mt. Pleasant High School, said she was eager to see the proposals and was amazed by what the kids and other members of the community helped to create. Two projects that stood out to her were the Multi-Lingual Café, where people could come together to learn different languages, and the food truck project, called Mi Cocina, Tu Cocina, where her daughters would teach others how to cook diverse cuisines.
“I love it! I love diversity, I love learning about different cultures, and I love eating different foods,” she said. “And I transmit that to my daughters. They’re very diverse as well, they love culture. So learning and how to they know how to eat and are learning how to cook. And teaching other people. I think that’s amazing. That’s really powerful. Because it also creates respect for other people culture, when they learn about their culture, and they’re full and what they how they make it. And all of that is amazing.”
She said she and her daughters are interested in the Pool Access, Lessons & Lifeguards program, and said she also would support Laundry for Schools.
Saturday’s Project Fair was an opportunity for members of the community to see and make some final comments on the ballot proposals. There were also appearances by Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, City Council President Rachel Miller, among others.
Led by Central Providence Opportunities: A Health Equity Zone (CPO-HEZ), the initiative has been underway since the summer of 2022, when a dedicated Steering Committee established a rulebook to guide the participatory budgeting process. With the objective of improving community health, the Nine Neighborhood Fund collected an impressive 300 project ideas from local residents.
The Project Fair served as an important platform for community members to interact directly with the individuals who conceived and designed the proposed projects. Attendees had the opportunity to engage with the project delegates who had spent the last three months reducing the list of projects and diligently developing proposals based on the needs, desires, and feasibility of the community.
Among the project ideas presented at the fair were “Bathrooms and Plants in our Parks,” aimed at enhancing the amenities in local parks, and “Peer Mental Health Training” which seeks to address the issue of mental health by providing training to community members, equipping them to better support one another.
Robert Joannette and his son Lucah enjoy the Project Fair at Mt. Pleasant High School on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Stephen Ide/ONE Neighborhood Builders
Other notable proposals included the “Lead-Free Water Project,” aiming to ensure clean and safe drinking water, and the “Neighborhood History Sharing” initiative, which seeks to preserve and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Central Providence. Furthermore, the “Clean up our Neighborhoods” project aims to foster a cleaner and more attractive living environment for all in the community.
The project has been driven by the principle of participatory budgeting, allowing community members ages 13 and above who live or attend school in the 02908/02909 ZIP codes to vote on the allocation of funds. Voting will take place June 6-20, when residents will have a direct say in the projects they believe will best serve their community.
Robert Joannette, a resident of Smith Hill, attended the Project Fair with his wife, driven by her involvement in the community. As a long-term resident of 13 years, Joannette acknowledged the significance of allocating resources and having a voice in shaping the community.
“To me, I think it is important to be here because this is where we live. … who is better to have a voice than the people that live here?”
He said he found the life skills class for youth particularly important, emphasizing the need to teach financial independence and other skills. Another project that stood out for him was the lead-free water initiative, considering the age of the houses in the area.
For more information about participatory budgeting and specifics on projects that will be on the ballot, visit decideri.org.
The full list of projects on the ballot:
Download a PDF of entire list
LARGE PROJECTS
Residents can vote for 7 of the 14 large projects. Those with the highest votes will be funded until $880,000 is spent.
BATHROOMS & PLANTS IN OUR PARKS, Budget: $368,000
Improve our parks by increasing bathroom accessibility, and plantings that protect our environment from pollution.
CATCHING UP ON LANDSCAPING SERVICES, Budget: $165,000
Provide free landscaping services to those who have been unable to maintain their yards to create beautiful and sustainable spaces across our community.
PEER MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING, Budget: $50,000
Provide mental health training for high school students in 02908 & 02909. Train students to detect the signs within their peers who may be experiencing mental health issues. Provide students and parents with resources and support within the schools and create a connection with their community.
AIR FILTER PROJECT, Budget: $331,000
Distribute 1,500 HEPA Air Purifiers to residents with asthma.
LEAD-FREE WATER PROJECT, Budget: $330,000
Provide 2,000 households in 02908/ 02909 who have lead-contaminated pipes with an NSF-certified water filter dispenser.
LAUNDRY FOR SCHOOLS, Budget: $134,000
Install washers & dryers in 2 schools in Central Providence.
NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY SHARING, Budget: $51,000
Storytelling events across Central Providence to uncover the stories of those who have lived here and have impacted our neighborhoods.
MULTI-LINGUAL CAFE, Budget: $95,000
Peer-to-peer English-language learning & Spanish-language learning that is specific to terms and phrases unique to Providence and Rhode Island and the common dialects spoken in Central Providence.
IMPROVE OUR BUS STOPS, Budget: $253,000
Improve 8 bus stops in Central Providence to include bus shelters, solar powered lighting and charging stations.
ONE STOP SHOP FOR BASIC NEEDS, Budget: $200,000
A community pop-up that occurs multiple times a week at our local recreation centers. Project includes: improvements to showers, public access to a shower with showering supplies, and connections to resources for basic needs.
POOL ACCESS, LESSONS & LIFEGUARDS, Budget: $112,000
Extend swimming pool hours, offer free swimming lessons for all ages, and lifeguard training for youth.
MI COCINA, TU COCINA, Budget: $156,000
Mobile nutritional educational trailer that provides exposure for young adults to teach them life skills such as cooking and exposure to other cultures.
WATER FOUNTAINS AND READING GARDENS FOR OUR PARKS, Budget: $380,000
Add drinking water fountains and reading gardens to Riverside, Donigian, Davis, and Regent Avenue Parks to create more green leisure spaces for local residents to enjoy. Distribute reusable water bottles to community members.
CLEAN UP OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, Budget: $120,000
Create a Neighborhood Association that would work with local government and other partners to oversee community projects including park/street clean-ups, bulk item collections, street beautification, and relationship building.
SMALL PROJECTS
Residents can vote for 3 of the 6 small projects. Those with the highest vote totals will be funded until $120,000 is spent.
GROUND MURALS, Budget: $30,000
Working with artists to design and paint ground murals, followed by a community block party to launch the mural and raise awareness of street safety.
CENTRAL PROVIDENCE SOCCER FOR YOUTH, Budget: $30,000
This funding will go towards a youth soccer program in Central Providence. By providing free access to equipment, outdoor space, and coaching, this project would expand the accessibility of soccer-playing to more local youth than can currently participate.
FOOD-BEARING TREE PLANTING, Budget: $30,000
Pilot program that would plant food-bearing trees native to Rhode Island (apple, pear, peach, berries, nut trees) around Central Providence.
BIKE DISTRIBUTION AND REPAIR, Budget: $30,000
Distribute 50 bikes and repair kits and offer bike maintenance and repair workshops to low-income residents of 02908 and 02909.
LIFE SKILLS CLASSES FOR YOUTH, Budget: $30,000
A class for youth that discusses skills around parenting, personal finance, domestic activities, and other basic life skills.
CENTRAL PROVIDENCE MURALS, Budget: $30,000
Create a Neighborhood Association that would work with local government and other partners to oversee community projects including park/street clean-ups, bulk item collections, street beautification, and relationship building.
Voting Details
There are multiple ways you can vote, including:
- Online at DecideRI.org
- In-person at our polling locations. We’ll have two polling locations open Monday -Thursday from 4pm – 8pm
- Mount Pleasant Community Library
- ONE Neighborhood Builders
- Atlantic Mills Flea Market on Sunday, June 11 from 11am-3pm
- Providence PrideFest, taking place on Saturday, June 17 at the Providence Innovation District Park
There will be a voting party Saturday, June 10 from 2-5pm. There will be free hot dogs (courtesy of Olneyville NY System), music, and family-fun activities.
